Making your argument flow

Learning Skills Group

 Overview of this workshop

This module will focus on:

1.  Setting up and maintaining arguments
2.  Making your text coherent
3.  Using cohesive devices to link ideas

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 1] Setting up and maintaining arguments

Task 1: Read the two texts given and identify:

•  main arguments
•  evidence for supporting the arguments

In what ways are the arguments presented differently

in these two texts?

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 Multinational corporations are companies that have branches in many countries. They are becoming more
and more important in the world economy. This essay will examine the role of multinationals in the oil and automobile
industries, and in forestry and fishing. It will show that these companies have a generally negative effect on the
environment.
Transnational corporations are responsible for roughly 50 percent of all greenhouse gases (Robinson, 2001),
mostly as a result of their role in the extraction and use of fossil fuels. The automobile industry is a major cause of
environmental damage. The rapid increase in the number of fossil-fuel burning automobiles increases the carbon
dioxide load in atmosphere, thus increasing the severity of global warming.
Fishing had become big business and over-fishing is causing a rapid decline in the world’s fish stocks.
Multinational companies such as Pescanova were involved in the destruction of the North Atlantic cod fishery.
According to the FAO, ‘Nearly 70 percent of the world’s conventional fish stock are either fully exploited, severely
overtaxed, declining or recovering’ (cited in Robinson, 2001). Furthermore, high-tech fishing boats are wiping out
traditional fishing communities.
Another example of the negative impact of multinational companies on the environment is forestry.
Robinson (2001) points out that in many countries, corporations rapidly deplete resources in one area and then move
on to another, leaving a trail of devastation in their wake.
It is therefore clear that multinational corporations have a negative impact on the environment, both because of
their role in oil And automobile production and because of their involvement in fishing and forestry.
   
 
Text  A  
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 Multinational corporations are companies that have branches in many countries. They are becoming more and more
important in the world economy. Oil is produced by multinational corporations, and most cars are produced by
international companies such as Honda and General Motors. Corporations also play an important role in forestry and
fishing. Nowadays, fishing has become big business and over-fishing is causing a rapid decline in the world’s fish stocks.
According to the FAO, ‘Nearly 70 percent of the world’s conventional fish stock are either fully exploited, severely
overtaxed, declining or recovering’ (cited in Robinson, 2001). Furthermore, high-tech fishing boats are wiping out
traditional fishing communities.
Transnational corporations are responsible for roughly 50 percent of all greenhouse gases (Robinson, 2001). The
automobile industry is a major cause of environmental damage. The rapid increase in the number of fossil-fuel burning
automobiles increases the carbon dioxide load in atmosphere, thus increasing the severity of global warming.
Another example of the negative impact of multinational companies on the environment is forestry. Robinson (2001)
points out that in many countries, corporations rapidly deplete resources in one area and then move on to another,
leaving a trail of devastation in their wake.
It is therefore clear that multinational corporations have a negative impact on the environment. Global businesses
need to work hard to improve their environmental performance so that natural resources are saved to hand on to our
grandchildren. Automobile manufacturers, fisheries and forestry are the main multinational industries that cause
pollution. Regarding this matter, the FAO, WTO and UN should try to solve these problems and protect the world from
globalization and pollution.

Text  B  
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Multinational corporations are companies that have branches in many countries. They are becoming more and more
important in the world economy. (Background) This essay will examine the role of multinationals in the oil and automobile
industries, and in forestry and fishing. (Outline). It will show that these companies have a generally negative effect on the
environment. (Thesis statement)
Transnational corporations are responsible for roughly 50 percent of all greenhouse gases (Robinson, 2001), mostly as a
result of their role in the extraction and use of fossil fuels. The automobile industry is a major cause of environmental
damage. (Argument1) The rapid increase in the number of fossil-fuel burning automobiles increases the carbon dioxide
load in atmosphere, thus increasing the severity of global warming.
Fishing had become big business and over-fishing is causing a rapid decline in the world’s fish stocks. (Argument2)
Multinational companies such as Pescanova were involved in the destruction of the North Atlantic cod fishery. According to
the FAO, ‘Nearly 70 percent of the world’s conventional fish stock are either fully exploited, severely overtaxed, declining
or recovering’ (cited in Robinson, 2001). Furthermore, high-tech fishing boats are wiping out traditional fishing
communities.
Another example of the negative impact of multinational companies on the environment is forestry. (Argument3)
Robinson (2001) points out that in many countries, corporations rapidly deplete resources in one area and then move on to
another, leaving a trail of devastation in their wake.
It is therefore clear that multinational corporations have a negative impact on the environment (Restate thesis statement)
both because of their role in oil and automobile production and because of their involvement in fishing and forestry.
(Summary of arguments)

Text  A  
 

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 Multinational corporations are companies that have branches in many countries. They are becoming more and
more important in the world economy. Oil is produced by multinational corporations, and most cars are produced by
international companies such as Honda and General Motors. Corporations also play an important role in forestry and
fishing.
Nowadays, fishing has become big business and over-fishing is causing a rapid decline in the world’s fish stocks.
According to the FAO, ‘Nearly 70 percent of the world’s conventional fish stock are either fully exploited, severely
overtaxed, declining or recovering’ (cited in Robinson, 2001). Furthermore, high-tech fishing boats are wiping out
traditional fishing communities.
Transnational corporations are responsible for roughly 50 percent of all greenhouse gases (Robinson, 2001).
The automobile industry is a major cause of environmental damage. The rapid increase in the number of fossil-fuel
burning automobiles increases the carbon dioxide load in atmosphere, thus increasing the severity of global warming.
Another example of the negative impact of multinational companies on the environment is forestry. Robinson (2001)
points out that in many countries, corporations rapidly deplete resources in one area and then move on to another,
leaving a trail of devastation in their wake.
It is therefore clear that multinational corporations have a negative impact on the environment. Global businesses
need to work hard to improve their environmental performance so that natural resources are saved to hand on to our
grandchildren. Automobile manufacturers, fisheries and forestry are the main multinational industries that cause
pollution. Regarding this matter, the FAO, WTO and UN should try to solve these problems and protect the world from
globalization and pollution.

Text  B  
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Deductive argument (Text A)
•  present position
•  provide evidence
•  come to a conclusion

Inductive argument (Text B)

•  present a number of reasons
•  come to a conclusion

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 How do readers follow a deductive argument?
Statement of position

evidence 1

evidence 2

evidence 3

Re-statement or modification
of position
                               

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 Which method of presenting an argument is better?

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 Both  methods  are  useful  but…  
Deductive: Inductive:
-explicit argument (clear position put -implicit argument
at the beginning) (position not state until conclusion,
-reader not familiar with this method readers have to infer and may have
may find it repetitive different interpretations)
-reader not familiar with this method
may feel disoriented and confused

*lecturers in English- speaking

universities are more familiar with
deductive argument structure
(Brick, 2012)
 

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 2] Making your text coherent
What is coherence?

Effective writing should make sense and logical (i.e., coherent).

A coherent text is a piece of writing that is logically consistent
and shows a unit of thought. It develops a logical structure
from the introduction through the content sections to
the conclusion.
 

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 Coherence

Look at this text. Does it make any sense to you?

 
I  like  ea(ng  pineapple.  There  is  a  ball  in  this  box.  Why  don’t  you  go  out    
and  have  some  fresh  air.  

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 Coherence (macro level)
Text structure:
Some ways to organise your ideas coherently:
1.  General à specific
2.  Problem à solution
3.  Compare à contrast
4.  Cause à effects
5.  More important à less important

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 Coherence (micro level)
Paragraph structure

Topic sentence   summarises main idea

(usually the first sentence in a
paragraph)  

Supporting sentences   develops the idea in the topic sentence

with evidence and/or examples  

Concluding sentence   •  summarises main points

•  comments on evidence
•  links to next paragraph
(optional)
 
 

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 Task 2:
Read paragraph 3 in Text A again.
1.  Can you identify the topic sentence and supporting
sentences in this paragraph? How did the writer develop
the main idea in the topic sentence?
2.  Is there any concluding sentence? If not, can you write
one for this paragraph?
3. Do you think Text A is coherent? Why/why not?

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 3] Using cohesive devices to link ideas
What is cohesion?

Cohesion is the grammatical and lexical links within a text

that hold a piece of writing together and give its meaning.
It refers to the linkage of ideas between sentences and
between paragraphs.
Two possible ways to show connections in a text:
A. grammar and B. vocabulary

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 A. Grammar  
1.  use of linking words (e.g., in addition, and, however,
as a result) See Table 1 in handout.
2. use of reference words:
•  demonstrative pronouns (e.g., this, these, that, those)
•  definite article ‘the’
•  pronouns (e.g., he, his, they, their, we, our)

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 Task 3: Can you identify the use of grammatical cohesive
devices in the following sentences? Circle all the devices.

The number of tellers was reduced in ABC bank last month.

As a result, customers had to wait much longer for banking
services. This situation is not ideal and the bank needs to
consider various ways to solve the problem. Otherwise,
it may lose its customers.

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 The number of tellers was reduced in ABC bank last month.
As a result, customers had to wait much longer for banking
services. This situation is not ideal and the bank needs to
consider various ways to solve the problem. Otherwise,
it may lose its customers.

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 B. Vocabulary
1.  repetition of words (may be in different forms such as
verb, noun, adjective or adverb e.g., act, action,
active, actively)
2. use of synonyms (resources – materials, salary – wages)
3.  word chains – a sequence of different words related to
the same topic

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Task 4: Read the text given (Brick, 2012, p.196).
1.  Can you identify two sets of vocabulary chains, one refers
to ‘research’ and the other to ‘children’ and ‘teens’?
2. Identify the grammatical cohesive devices used by
the writer.

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 a. One of the 100 or so empirical studies is a longitudinal study of TV’s
effects on children and teens in the real world that took more than ten
years to complete.
b. Some 3200 young people – a sample of elementary school children
and a sample of teenage boys – were surveyed over a three-year period
from May 1970 through December 1973.
c. All of these children lived in two mid-western cities.
d. One of the reasons that the study took so long to complete was that
the results were weak and inconsistent and therefore difficult to
interpret.
e. No matter what was examined, the data for elementary school
children – and also for teens – showed little effect-size numbers.
f. Based on this result, our conclusion was that any effect of watching
television violence on children’s aggression either did not really exist or
was very small.

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Using order of information to link sentences

Which of the texts below do you like the best? Why?

Mary went home. Mary went home.

Dinner was eaten by her. She ate dinner.
Her partner prepared it. It was prepared by her
partner.

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Order of information
GIVEN (KNOWN) NEW

Mary went home. Mary went home.

Dinner was eaten by her. She ate dinner.

Her partner prepared it. It was prepared by her partner.  

Writing that does not follow this pattern can seem ‘choppy’.

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 References
Brick,  J.  (2011).  LING316  Second  language  teaching  and  learning          
 
Brick,  J.  (2012).  Academic  culture:  A  student’s  guide  to  studying  
 at  university.  Sydney:  Na7onal  Centre  for  English    
 Language  Teaching  and  Research,  Macquarie  University.    

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